Hair colour help needed.

[MissJuly]

Hi everyone, I'm not a hairdresser but have been dying my own hair for years, since I was about 15 and am now 21. I never dyed it religiously, only every so often, when it badly needed doing and have had it cut plenty of times and at the moment, my hair is in great condition - although it could do with a trim as it's getting v. long!

Anyways, I've been dying it black for about 3 years, like I say, not religiously though and this year I've only dyed it once and that was back in February.

Since the one black dye this month, I have dyed it a dark brown which on the box said could be put on black hair - think it was a Garnier or L'oreal brand, can't remember.

My natural colour is a light ash brown sort of colour/mousey brown and the roots are really coming through now. I don't want to dye it black any more and infact would like to go lighter, if I can, as close to my natural colour as possible or maybe lighter than that.

At the moment my hair is just below my bra clasps strap so is quite long, and about 2 and a half inches from the roots is my natural colour, then about an inch or so of the brown I put on (which has lightened) and then majority of my hair is a very dark brown, almost black but in sunlight/bright light it has kind of a red hue to it. The ends are obviously darkest but my hair does need a trim so could probably cut some of that out.

I just wanted to ask what the best way of getting the black out/going lighter would be. I don't really want to hack lots of my hair off as it took me a couple of years to grow it as long as it is, but I do want some layers, a fringe and a trim of the ends which will prob help rid some of the black.

Any ideas?

P.S. Am going to a hairdresser next week for a cut, then am planning to just dye my own hair at home. When I had it cut in February the hairdresser took a bit of the hair she'd cut and put it in foils to see what colour my hair would go - it went coppery orangey and very wiry! Don't want to frizz my hair either!! I've considered Colour B4 Xtra Strength but mixed reviews and don't want to ruin my hair and waste my money.

Sorry for the long essay, replies much appreciated!!

 

[alexandra.]

You will get no other reply on here other than leave it to your hairdresser. Weve all seen WAY too many colour corrections when people attempt this kind of colouring at home. Good luck

 

[ryanhiggs]

Sorry to be blunt but we've all had enough of people wanting advice about colouring their own hair, this is a professional site for hairdressers and u won't get any advice from any of us, leave it to the professionals. U my think u will save money doing it urself but when it goes wrong and it will u will have to pay alot for a hairdresser to sort it out.

 

[Jodie1612]

Home colours always ask for trouble! Especially black when its built up over time. Always have colour done professionally, dont use anymore home kits. It dries the hair something terrible and can leave it in an awful condition even when used occasionally.

 

[AcidPerm]

Hi Miss July.
When the box says it can cover/dye black hair, it is referring to the natural colour of the hair. So if your hair was naturally black it is suggesting that it can lighten it slightly. However, a cardinal rule in hairdressing is that 'tint won't lighten tint'. Therefore, if you put a brown home hair dye on your dyed hair, it will only colour the hair brown that has not been previously dyed such as your roots. Removing tint or colour correction as it is known, is a complex process and is usually taught at NVQ level 3. Your hairdresser was giving you a helpful warning back in February showing what would happen to the hair if you tried just lightening it using a bleach based product. Therefore, as my other colleagues have pointed out, if you are desperate to return to your natural colour, please ensure that you make an appointment with a hairdresser who can offer specialist colour correction services. You do risk seriously harming your hair if you use any 'off the shelf' products to lighten it at this stage. I'm not anti home colouring at all and I happily used off the shelf hair dyes to darken my hair for many years before training as a hairdresser. However, colour correction is an entirely different matter and you honestly won't find anything suitable at your local chemist store.